On Chance Encounters
by TheEvilAuthoressK-chan
Summary: AU slightly ooc full description inside Tenten is running away. Temari is struggling with her flighty new boyfriend. Ino meets someone new after the loss of an almost-mariage. Sakura falls in love with her new boss. Hinata dreams about a customer.
1. Chapter 1

Yep, I'm back from my hiatus! Tis I, TheEvilAuthoressK-chan, here with my next story. I want this to be a long one, and hopefully it will be. It is a many part story so if one dies down for a little while I can just focus on another part! Yay for brilliant ideas! I wasn't originally going to have them all moving into the same building, but it just worked out that way… My stories tend to have a mind of their own…

As promised, the full description: After a final blowout with her adoptive mom, Tenten decides to run away from home and move to the city, screw the consequences; she is an adult, after all… And who is this mysterious stranger she met on the train? When Ino finds out her long-term boyfriend/fiancé has been cheating on her with multiple women, Ino moves on and moves out and decides to change for a little while… And then she meets the brother of her building super, who takes the made-up Ino to be the real one. As the owner of this new building Temari has enough issues as it is without worrying about guys… But will either of the two prospects courting her make her change her mind? Sakura has been in love with her boss since day one… And her coworker has been in love with her just as long. Hinata is finally able to get a place of her own, thanks to her cousin, and he's gotten her a job as well… But can he deal with the setup for dates when a bright customer has a grasp on all of her waking thoughts?

Yeah, you can see why I couldn't fit that in the small summary box.

I own nothing. Enjoy.

X.x.X.x.X

**Tenten**

_Screw it. Screw it, screw it, screw it._ Tenten thought angrily to herself as she threw the things she cared about into her oversized luggage. _I'm leaving. I hate this place and this place hates me. _Dark thoughts, sure, but for Tenten these were dark times. Ever since her adoptive father died, all her adoptive mother ever did was criticize, argue, yell, and drink. Ever.

Today was the last straw. Absolute last straw. And she had to leave now, while this so-called mother of hers was passed out drunk. She couldn't take the big furniture, and she'd miss having her big round chair for reading in, but that was just a sacrifice she would just have to make. A chair was not worth staying.

Tenten finally packed the last of the books she actually owned into the suitcase and zipped it up. She grabbed what little makeup and other toiletries she had laying around the bathroom and packed those in an over-the-shoulder bag and was ready to leave. Thanking the heavens that she lived in a one story house, Tenten walked right out the front door, not bothering to leave a note.

Two hours later Tenten found herself on the train, halfway to a city two counties over, searching on her trusty iTouch for apartment listings, hoping to find something cheap and fully furnished. She was lucky that they were at a stop with free Wifi, that's for sure. And until just a minute ago she had three seats to herself. Now the aisle seat was occupied by a tall guy (a tall very cute guy) with long brown hair and… were his eyes lavender?

Whoa.

In spite of herself, Tenten could not stop staring. Those eyes… They were so light colored they could practically be called white. She wondered offhand if he was blind, but only the color was light, not the pupil itself. After a few minutes she looked back down at her iTouch, only to find that they had left the station long ago and she no longer had her Wifi signal. "Shit," she cursed aloud, causing her companion to look right at her. _Well, that rules out blindness,_ Tenten thought to herself.

"Sorry. Lost my wifi, and I…" Tenten trailed off, and the guy laughed. It wasn't like a hohoho I'm happy and jolly laugh; it was more of an Ugh, I'm-sitting-next-to-the-biggest-idiot-in-the-world half-a-second-laugh. Not nice. "I'm Tenten," she said with more confidence, sticking her hand out.

"Neji Hyuuga," he stated simply, not taking her hand. He looked at her as if studying her for flaws, and Tenten squirmed a little under his unabashed gaze. No one had ever looked at her like that, and she wasn't quite sure if she liked it or not. Truth be told, it was unnerving to be under that much scrutiny by a stranger, but at the same time there was just something about being watched by those eyes…

They stayed like that for another moment before Neji looked away to a book he was reading (some foreign title that Tenten was not familiar with) and Tenten played games on her iTouch. Feeling childish next to this figure she switched to one of her books: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. As she settled into the middle she got lost and forgot about the mysterious stranger until her stop was announced and he got up as well. At her stop.

O.o.O.o.O

**Ino**

"Wash out color with the shampoo, then use conditioner provided for a long-lasting shine…" Ino read aloud before setting down the hair color box on the counter of her new home. Shikamaru had always said that her long blonde hair was her best feature. So, after she broke up with the cheating bastard she cut it from it's but length pony-tail to one that reached her shoulder –barely –and dyed her platinum hair a nice, rich brown. With temporary color, of course, so that it wouldn't last forever. She loved her hair more than she hated the fact that Shikamaru had loved her hair the best.

As she washed it out, she sighed. This was not an end. She wouldn't let it be. Ino wasn't an optimist (far from it) but she wanted to believe that this was a beginning. The start of something new so that she could move on from the cheating terror that was her last boyfriend.

What she needed was a new guy.

She hated to admit it, but she was the type that needed a guy for comfort. Someone to hold her and kiss her and make all that was bad go away, at least for a little while. Tomorrow she would go out and find someone new. She would do it because she knew she could. She used to get asked out daily in High School until she began to date…

She would not think about him. Ever. And she would change herself. Be someone else in this body. Take up new hobbies. Hell, maybe she would be a vegetarian. Yeah. And she'd be the book type rather than the clothes type. There were boys who went for the book type, right?

"Well," she said to herself as she dried her hair, "tomorrow I start reading. Joy of joys."

O.o.O.o.O

**Temari**

"Kuro, no. You can not live in one of my apartments for free. The only reason Gaara does is because he is a full time student at the university and can't afford a place," Temari said to the older of her two younger brothers impatiently.

"But Tema!"

"What are you, five? Yeesh," Temari thought for a long moment. "I'll make you a deal. You work for me and I provide you room and board. You'll need another job to get food and luxuries, but I'll take care of the rest."

"Deal," Kankuro said, then paused. "Um, Tema, what would I be doing, exactly?"

"As of today, you are the in-house maintenance man. Now get out, and go to your room. You're in 3B," Not giving him any time to reply, Temari went into her office and checked the room availability. 1A was given to Hinata Hyuuga, 1B to Sakura Haruno, 2A to Ino Yamanaka, 3A and 3B were her brothers, and the fourth floor penthouse was hers. The rooms filled up quick; she only had one left. "And now I have really nothing to do, save for making sure my brother's don't kill themselves and that the halls and such are kept clean."

Temari leaned back in her desk chair, wondering if it would take long to sell that last room. If all went well she'd make enough money to buy a house and move out of the penthouse so that she'd be able to sell that too. And wouldn't that be great? Her own house… It'd be southern plantation style with the big front yard and wraparound porch. Two stories plus and attic that she could turn into a guest bedroom or something. That would be nice. And a big kitchen to cook in and she'd take a few classes so that she'd be a better cook.

In the middle of this daydreaming, someone rang the front bell. Temari looked past the office door and saw a tall girl with chocolate hair and twin buns. And suitcases. That was what was important. The fact that she had suitcases meant she was looking for a place to stay. "Hello there! My name is Temari, what can I do for you?"

"I want an apartment."

"Ok then. Step into my office and we'll get you all set up."

O.o.O.o.O

**Sakura**

"Well, Miss Sakura, you are looking quite lovely today! Uchiha got you working late again?" Lee asked, flashing a blinding smile. That was one thing Sakura could say about Lee. He had no taste in clothes or hair styles (and his eyebrows desperately needed to be waxed) but the man had great hygiene.

"Thanks Lee," she said. Lee was her best friend who was not-so-secretly in love with her. Had been since she could remember. But his total bubbly-ness and lack of common sense (and fashion sense) left much to be desired. That's just not what Sakura was into; she liked the dark, brooding type. Which was why she would do anything for her boss, Sasuke Uchiha (or hell, even his brother Itachi… even if those scars of his made him look like he needed some botox), including staying up till ungodly hours of the night finishing those reports.

But at least she had Lee, who would always stay back and help her, even if he wasn't getting paid for the overtime. Gotta love friends like that.

"You know what, Lee, I think I'll go for coffee with you today," Sakura said as she finished her work. "I definitely need it."

O.o.O.o.O

**Hinata**

Hinata sighed as she looked at the clock. Twenty minutes until her shift was over and he hadn't shown up. At all. What's worse was that she had a date tonight. With that student… What did he study? Archaeology. He digs for a living. Oh, joy. But apparently he was a prodigy, so Neji thought he'd be good for frail old Hinata. _As if I need any help taking care of myself._ Hinata thought bitterly as she bussed one of the tables.

But this Gaara seemed nice enough. Perfectly polite, and promised to pick her up right after her shift and drive her home so that she could shower and change. Apparently they lived in the same building, since his sister owned the place. Weird.

But that isn't really who she wanted. It may seem weird to other people, but that blond guy who was a regular here was just so… Adorable. There was no way to describe him. And he was really fit. And tall. And had the bluest eyes Hinata had ever seen. She was hooked.

Her cousin would hear noting of it, even is she tried. It just wasn't how he worked. If Neji set his mind on something he pretty much got his way. That's just how things went.

As her shift ended, Hinata resigned herself to the date and daydreams of the blonde customer. For now.

X.x.X.x.X

And that's it for chapter one! It's just the intros to the characters and their points of view. I know there is some oocness, but it couldn't be helped. Also, sorry some of the characters had short intros. When I was coming up with this idea it was going to be a one shot titled Strangers On A Train, and it was going to be just Tenten's part fleshed out. Tenten is kind of my focus for this, but as I get more ideas (and I have a lot of them already) each part will flesh itself out. As I've said before, my stories have a mind of their own when it comes to these things.

As always, if there is something you would like to see in a later chapter, just say so in your review!

Hope you all like it!


	2. Chapter 2

Here I sit, eating sunflower seeds and FINALLY getting to typing up the next chapter. Yep! I'm back again! And this time I have a goal: a chapter a week. It won't be the same story each week, but there could be some overlap. And multiple chapters may come! Weeeeeee~~

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'll probably start replying specifically to the next few chapters.

X.x.X.x.X

**Tenten**

Tenten relaxed on her couch (_her_ couch!) and heaved a contented sigh. It was so great to have her own place, but she knew she would have to start worrying about rent soon and that meant a job. She should probably start looking for one of those. But first: food.

Tenten walked into her kitchen and set the oven to 450, planning to cook up a frozen pizza that she had bought since she moved in almost a week ago. So far so good: she hadn't seen or heard from that 'mother' of hers, and she sincerely hope it stayed that way. Because seriously? She did not need that drama. Besides, Tenten was an adult now, so there was no reason for anyone to declare her missing.

Her mind wandered to the man on the train, and the fool she had made of herself when they had gotten off the train. God, she'd gotten distracted and followed him. More than once he had turned around and scowled at her, and more than once she had told herself that she was going to turn around and go in the opposite direction. She didn't. She had followed him here, and instead of being a good little girl, she saw the for rent sign in the window and took the place, no questions asked. She was lucky enough that it was furnished and the utilities were covered in the rent. She just hoped and prayed that this was in a good area.

After an hour or so her oven was still cool to the touch. Which kinda really sucked. One week in and she needed something repaired. Wasn't there supposed to be an in-house repairman? She looked at the list of phone numbers and room numbers that her super had given her and located the name. Kankuro. He was in 3B. Since her phone wouldn't be set up until tomorrow, she slipped on some flip flops and went up the stairs to the next floor and knocked on 3B.

"Hold on, hold on!" she heard a voice call, followed by some rustling and then, after a long moment, some locks turning. "What can I help you with?" he said as he opened the door. It was obvious that he had just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still wet and he had a towel around his neck that obscured only part of his bare chest.

Tenten felt a slight blush creep to her face as she said "Well, my oven won't heat, and…" she trailed off, trying not to stare at the guy before her.

"Anything for such a pretty girl," a slight smirk was on his face as he spoke, causing Tenten to blush a little more. "Let me get a shirt real quick, and You can show me what's wrong.

-.-_Later_-.-

If there was one thing that could be said about Kankuro it was, in Tenten's own opinion, that he was funny. He worked diligently as she sat on her counter, and they talked the whole time. It was a freaking crime for someone to look like that and have a sense of humor too.

"Hey, Tenten?" Kankuro said, coming out of the oven after having declared it fixed, "I was wondering: are you free tomorrow? I'd kinda like to take you out to eat, maybe we can go to a movie?" Hope was in his voice, and in spite of herself, Tenten found herself smiling. She hadn't been much one to date in high school, and she wasn't sure that dating someone she just met was the safest bet; then again, he did live in her building, and thus couldn't sneak a girl up.

"Sure," she said

"Great! I know just the place."

O.o.O.o.O

**Ino**

Ino sighed as she set down her book for what seemed like the millionth time. She just didn't see how people could spend hours doing this. Shakespeare was just so… Complicated. She couldn't even get through Romeo and Juliet, and that was supposed to be a classic! She couldn't understand half of what was being said here. And the library was just so quiet!

In frustration, Ino pulled up the internet. She'd have to find something better if this were to work for her. Something easier. She scrolled through a list of titles that were on reading lists that were meant for middle schoolers and copied down a few of the titles, hoping there would be at least something on this list that she could get through.

Ino looked around at the shelves. This was only the first story of books. There were two others that she could look through, and maybe she would find something. She left her computer station and began wandering, not able to even begin to figure out where she was supposed to find these books. The library was not on her list of likes, that was for sure.

She looked down at the outfit she was wearing, and it just seemed so odd to her: jeans and a teeshirt. It was so unlike her usual short skirts and belly shirts that she felt a little restricted. But hey, at least her boots were cute.

When she looked up she spotted him: he was with another blonde, this one with short hair and glasses; they looked like they were arguing in hushed tones, but neither was angry. There was a book open between them and occasionally there would be pointing and the flipping of pages as they discussed a topic that Ino was too far to hear.

As if he felt her stare, Shikamaru looked up and directly at her, a puzzled look on his face. The look twisted into a condescending smile as his eyes twinkled with recognition: she'd been caught. He winked at her, and the blonde turned in her seat and met eyes with Ino before turning back around to answer an inevidable question: Who's she?

The next words Ino caught clearly, even though she was too far to hear: No one. He looked down at the book again, and, after one last glance back, so did the girl.

As she left, Ino cursed the power he still had over her.

O.o.O.o.O

**Temari**

Temari looked up at the sky as she was taking her walk in the cool air. It was starting to cool down, and she'd need to start wearing a jacket soon. She scowled slightly: she never did like the cold. It was such a pain.

The walks, in Temari's opinion, were the best part of the day; no obligations, no annoying brothers, no calculating what her profit was this month (_if_ she had a profit this month)… It was all very relaxing.

"Akamaru!" a shout came from down the way from a guy chasing his dog, interrupting her thoughts. They were coming her way, so she crouched low, prepared to catch the small white dog.

"Gotcha!" she said, grabbing it and picking it up, holding the squirming dog to her chest. The guy ran the rest of the way to them, clipping on Akamaru's leash before taking him and setting him down.

"Thanks a lot, He's pretty fast for such a slow dog," he smiled at her, petting the dog before standing up again, allowing her to get a good look at him. He… Was pretty cute, actually… She mentally shook her head. She did not need to get involved with a guy right now. She had too much that she had to do.

"It's no problem, really," she said with a smile.

"Can I treat you to ice cream?" he asked, and she couldn't help but notice the way he looked at her before blushing. "Ah, I mean, My name's Kiba. I want to thank you for helping with Akamaru, so how does ice cream sound?"

_One time getting thank you ice cream will not mean anything. Anything. Right? _Temari thought to herself as she nodded, letting him (or, rather, Akamaru) lead the way.

O.o.O.o.O

**Sakura**

Sakura sighed as she cleaned up her work station at the end of a long day. She had sent Lee home already, making a million promises that she was not, under any circumstances, going to stay late today. Period. And she was sticking to her promise, give or take an hour or so.

As she was leaving the office, she caught a glimpse of the Uchihas standing outside, having a quick chat before the older one walked away into the night. Sasuke inclined his head in her direction, one of his smirks touching his face for a moment. He gave her a nod and walked off to his own car and Sakura sighed. Those two were enough to make her heart melt.

She got into her car and drove down to the coffee place down the street; she always felt so restless after work: she wondered if she wasn't developing insomnia or something. She was sleeping less and less, and she seemed to be consuming more an more caffine (maybe that was part of her problem; all the caffine)

The waitress nodded to her, a pretty girl with cropped hair and pale eyes. Sakura wondered if she shouldn't ask for the girl's name: she was here often enough that she was recognized, but not enough that they knew her name.

As she settled in with her coffee, her mind was all Uchiha.

O.o.O.o.O

**Hinata**

Hinata was on cloud nine today: she had gotten the blonde's name: Naruto. On top of that, her cousin hadn't come and bugged her today, and no date with Gaara. So what if she had the last shift of the day and would have to clean up? That was just fine with her!

At the end of her shift Hinata shooed out the pink-haired girl (who she learned today was named Sakura) and began to buss the tables and generally clean up. The other workers had already left, claiming to owe a favor that she knew would never be repaid.

Just as she was finishing sweeping up, she heard a bang on the door and jumped. She turned to look, cursing the fact that her pepper spray (an obligatory item in her purse, as per Neji's insistant instructions) was all the way in the back. Maybe if she ran she—

Looking out the window, she saw Naruto, asking to be let in. Which was against the rules.

Screw the rules.

Hinata unlocked the door and let him in. Immediately he began to search frantically. "Can I… Help you find something?" she asked.

The blonde sighed "It's not here, I guess," and walked to the door.

"If you'll wait a minute, I'll go look for it with you!" she said hurriedly, then clamped her mouth shut. Did she seriously just say that? "I mean I-I… Well—"

"Really? That would be great!" Naruto smiled a big, childish grin and they set out together.

X.x.X.x.X

Yeah, sorry about that wait. And the crappy ones for the last two. Hopefully they'll get better, but this time I stopped in the middle of a couple and kinda forgot where I was going with it all.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!


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